Reviews of Dine with Shamu??

[kpk89]

We are thinking of doing this on our Sea World day --- does anybody have experiences to share??

And, any idea what time it happens? The website only says "first seating".

 

[Cass]

Hi there, I just did this last week! I have loads of pics of all the food and the whale (duh!) but I can't post till tomorrow, coz I'm sleepy.

 

[Cass]

Here you go, Meanest Mama

Dine with Shamu Review

 

[aprile]

I've done it twice, and both times I booked really early and got one of the best tables, Shamu came up right next to me.

For the price and view of Shamu (sometimes two Shamus) it is definitely worth it.

 

[kpk89]

Cass, leave it to you to have a review of this! You are the best.

aprile, how early is early? Do you think I'll get a great seat by book today for Nov 1?

I feel like Sea World maybe isn't something people think about or plan quite as far ahead as Disney, or maybe I'm way off base.

 

[rpbert1]

We where there 18th July , seats assigned when you book , so earlier the better. The food and the whole experience was excellent and something i would definetly do again,

have a short video if you take a look.
Our table was right at the pool where he fed Shamu
http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a346/rpbert1/07/?action=view&current=P1010535.flv

 

[aprile]

aprile, how early is early? Do you think I'll get a great seat by book today for Nov 1?.

I just checked my email confirmation from last year for my Sept. 06 trip and I booked two months ahead of time and got one of the first front tables. If you book now I'm sure you'll have a good table.

I'm not a big fan of Believe, I find it boring, too much talking not enough whales, except for the time there was a baby with one of the whales. So this year (I'm doing disney for three nights, SeaWorld and Discovery Cove for two) I'm real anxious to see the Shamu Rocks show (they don't do that show in the Spring or Fall). If I wasn't already doing DC and Parents Dine at the Underwater Grill, I'd do Shamu Dines again. It never gets boring.

My second time I lucked out and had a waiter who let us know when and where Shamu was coming out of the water so that we weren't just missing pictures of him/her (he'd say "left" or "right" and I got great pictures). The first time I had a lot of shots of whale tail. That's why I finally bought a video camera.

 

[cnids00]

We'll be doing this on our first visit ever to SeaWorld and on our date there was only one option "dining 1", only one this day (a wednesday), I booked it about 2 weeks ago, do they seat you as you have booked it?

We're so excited to finally go to SW Taking one day off from WDW and also booked the tour where we can pet a penguin at the end of the tour!

Thanks for pics and reviews!!!!

 

[Cass]

I found Believe to be a bit much of a tear jerker, the last show was just fun - you left laughing.. Believe tries to make you emotional. (and they sell those whale tail necklaces but the thousand!)

Shamu Rocks was fun!

 

[aprile]

I found Believe to be a bit much of a tear jerker, the last show was just fun - you left laughing.. Believe tries to make you emotional. (and they sell those whale tail necklaces but the thousand!)

that's the problem with it, they try too hard to make you feel something deep and after you've seen it once, whenever the whales aren't performing it's so blah. Way too much dead time.

The first time I ever went to SeaWorld was in San Diego and the show never dragged. And the first time I went to Orlando's SW the show was fun, but then I went when they were switching over (so all you got to see was rehearsals) and since then they've had the Believe show.

I never get bored with the Sea Lion show and that's been the same for a long time. And the Dining with Shamu has been the same both times I've gone and that never gets old either.

I can't wait to see Shamu Rocks! One of the reasons I planned a Summer trip.

 

[the_princess]

It's amazing... You get so close to the whale and the trainers and you get good food at the same time...

 

[edit1]

Oh-oh, this is a good reminder to me that I better book Dine with Shamu soon for our upcoming trip in October. Went 2 years ago and the experience was wonderful - back then I was a bit more on the ball and booked at least a couple of months in advance. I didn't realize until reading this thread that booking so early gave us a good seat. It's true, though, as we had an awesome table that day as Shamu chose to hang out right beside our table a lot. It was an absolutely incredible experience and one of the highlights of my Southern California trip. I enjoyed the buffet as well -- great dessert selection if you're into sweets!

 

[kpk89]

Ack! I can barely wait!!!!

 

[willibobs]

Hi Peeps, just thought I would add my recent experiences into this thread. I went to 'Shamu Rocks' dining experience at Orlando last month. I have friends who have done the dining with shamu and thought this was the same.

How wrong I was!! Beware, as they packed us into the dining area like sardenes and it was 45mins before I actually got to the food and was sat down at my table with the rest of my party. There were NO trainers or whale interaction (unless the whales decided to play on their own) and I felt it was a total waste of money, so much so that I went to complain and got a full refund from guest services.

The manageress who delt with me was very good and explained that the 'Dining with Shamu' and 'Shamu Rocks dining' are NOT the same thing, even though they are in the same place. This was a family birthday meal and did not go to plan at all.

 

[snowbunny]

If you're going to Backstage at Believe/dining with Shamu, make sure you get there early (they want you there at 4:20 for a 4:45 seating). We had booked months ahead but got there late...like 5:15 because we were trying to hustle over from Discovery Cove (I was warned not to attempt it and didn't take the advice).
When we got there the CM said it's over...she offered to take us the next day which we could not do as we were flying home. In that event Seaworld refunded our money, which was really classy and surprising given that it was my fault.

 

[Cass]

With the Shamu Rock dinner you get guaranteed seats at the show, right?

I have to say it was PACKED at Shamu stadium and both shows were full and people were being turned away. Youhave to eat anyway, so it might be worth it to take the shamu rocks dinner, just to get the seats without a hassle or lining up for an hour.

 

[willibobs]

With the Shamu Rock dinner you get guaranteed seats at the show, right?

I have to say it was PACKED at Shamu stadium and both shows were full and people were being turned away. Youhave to eat anyway, so it might be worth it to take the shamu rocks dinner, just to get the seats without a hassle or lining up for an hour.

Yes you do get reserved seats at the shamu rocks show but at $30 a pop it is an expensive reservation! lol

 

[Cass]

Yeah but you still get dinner with beer/wine for that.. it seems like a good plan to me and a 100% guarantee you'll see shamu rocks. It was really awful the night we were lined up - we heard the announcements from the prior show that that stadium was full so we went there early, I couldn't believe the people waiting.

 

[aprile]

I went to the early Shamu Rocks show Saturday night and when we were leaving people were coming in, and they just kept pushing instead of waiting for us to leave, it was insane. Then the next night after I went to DC I went to the late Shamu Rocks show and had no problem getting a seat with only about 15 minutes to spare, maybe because it was a Sunday night. I did notice on Monday they only had one Shamu Rocks show.

The reason I went a second time was because the first night I could only find a seat in the Soak Zone and I got completely soaked and was uncomfortable and didn't enjoy the rest of the show. Sunday night I found a seat far enough away. Some guy with a cane was thinking of making his way down to his family, so I told him about my experience the night before, so he sat down behind me and his wife came up to join him and boy were they glad they did, their kids got drenched.